The Wizard of Oz Series Finale 2: Search for a Missing Princess
by WogglebugLoveProductions
Summary: The sequel to my first installment of The Wizard of Oz cartoon series finale. Mr. Wogglebug comes to Dorothy one night to return her to Oz and unite the others in to find the missing Princess Ozma, the rightful ruler of Oz.
1. Chapter 1

Dorothy awoke to Toto licking at her face. She giggled as she opened her eyes and sat up to pet him.

"Good morning, Toto," she said as she took the little black dog in her arms and hugged him as he wagged his tail.

She got out of bed and went over to her window, and pulling back the curtains she felt the hot sunshine of the Kansas summer filter into the room. She looked out at the great dusty flat gray prairie she and her family had lived on all their lives.

She turned away from the window and looked back at her room. It was a simple bedroom with not much in it and it seemed to be as gray colored as it was outside.

She sighed as she looked down at Toto in her arms and then set him down on the floor. "Another gray day," she said.

She dressed in her favorite blue and white checked gingham dress and then went downstairs for breakfast. As she sat around the table with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and their hired farmhands everyone talked and joked and laughed as if everything was alright with the world. Except everything wasn't at all.

Ever since the tornado they had practically been in ruins because the strong damaging winds of it had uprooted most of their crops and ripped through a great deal of the cornfield, and had even killed or injured a number of their livestock, and of course right now they couldn't afford to buy more.

Dorothy could see that everyone preferred to not think about their problems and to make the most of what they had now and so the subject was not brought up by anyone until that afternoon.

Dorothy stood in what was left of the cornfield as she was helping Hunk Andrews, one of their farmhands set up their new scarecrow. The scarecrow had just been finished being stuffed full of fresh straw which was stuffed into a pair of old boots and old brown trousers and a worn and patched green shirt and an old burlap sack for its head which had two eyes painted on with blue paint and a three-cornered nose and a smiling mouth and on its head was an old battered black hat.

"There! Now he looks just as good as any real man, wouldn't you say?" said Hunk as they lifted the scarecrow and fastened him to the pole in the center of the cornfield.

Dorothy nodded as she couldn't help but think of how much the scarecrow reminded her of her dear friend in Oz.

"He ought to frighten away those pesky crows from eating the corn," Hunk added, seeming proud of their handiwork.

"Sure," said Dorothy. "What's left of it anyway," she added soberly.

Hunk turned his prematurely lined face with its kindly blue eyes to Dorothy and smiled sympathetically. "Ah, don't you be worrying about it, Dorothy," he said as he put his arm around her in a comforting gesture. "We can get through this if we just use our heads. I mean as soon as the new colt is born and ready to sell we should be able to afford new seeds and then when it rains we'll be better off than we were before!"

"But what if it doesn't rain?" asked Dorothy.

Hunk was about to respond when suddenly they heard the voice of Hickory Twicker as he was approaching them along with a slight squeaking sound following him.

"We'll have no fear of no rain anymore!" he declared with a tone of pride in his voice.

They looked in his direction and saw him pushing some sort of contraption up with him which looked like a large metal barrel supported upon two smaller and thinner metal barrels with wheels attached. Two long cranks were sticking out of the sides like arms and there was a large funnel on the top of it.

"What have you got here, Hickory?" asked Dorothy, eying the machine curiously.

"This," he announced. "Is my rain maker!"

"Oh no!" Hunk groaned. "Not another of your crazy inventions!"

"So my wind machine didn't really work out," Hickory went on patiently. "But this one is guaranteed to work as I have already tested it. I tell you this contraption really has a heart of its own!"

"Really?" asked Dorothy eagerly. "Could you give it a try now?"

"It will be my pleasure!" Hickory smiled. He then began turning the left arm of the machine and loud whirring and clinking noises could be heard coming from inside of the large metal body and steam began to pour out of the funnel at the top.

"You'll see!" Hickory exclaimed. "In just a moment we'll have big thick clouds of..."

Just then the machine made a loud popping noise kind of like a car does when it backfires and dark smoke poured out of the funnel top and suddenly a rush of oil squirted out of the end of the arm Hickory had been cranking and splattered onto his face.

Dorothy and Hunk tried their best to hold back their laughter as Hickory took out his handkerchief to wipe off his face. "It seems to still have a few rusty places!" he exclaimed sulkily. "But I'll work it out! You just wait and see!"

"Sure, Hick, sure," Hunk said good-naturedly.

Dorothy went to feed the chickens and found Zeke shooing them into their roost.

"Get in their you feather heads!" he exclaimed.

Dorothy looked down at the them somberly. "What are we going to do, we lost so many chickens and chicks to the storm we don't have much eggs to sell."

"Be brave, Dorothy," said Zeke. "We can always breed some new chicks. And if those stupid bankers come calling on us, why I'll just scare them away from here!"

"How will you do that?" Dorothy wanted to know.

"Why, I'll... I'll... uh..." he tried to think of what he would do.

Just then Hunk and Hickory crept quietly up behind him unnoticed and then they both in unison exclaimed "Boo!" as loudly as they could.

Zeke let out a frightened yell as he jumped up and looked around him gasping for breath. He then turned and found his two co-workers laughing their heads off at their little prank.

"That's not funny, guys!" he exclaimed indignantly. "You nearly made me jump out of my coveralls!"

That evening when Dorothy went into her bedroom again she found it to be quite dark and so reached over and turned on a lamp nearby thus giving some light to the darkness. Once she could see she was quite startled to find someone standing in her room.

She let out a short gasp and it took a moment for her to recognize the person standing before her but then the realization of who it was came to her.

"Why Mr. Wogglebug!" she exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello Dorothy," he said smiling quickly and then he reached towards her almost pleadingly. "There is no time to explain, you must come back with me."

"Back to where?" she asked.

"Why back to Oz, of course!" he exclaimed with urgency.

"Why, what's wrong?" she asked with concern. "Are my friends in trouble?"

"No, no," he assured her quickly. "You're friends are just fine, but it is she who we have got to worry about." As he spoke he took out a small picture from his vest pocket and showed it to her. It was of a young girl of Dorothy's age with long hair in flowing ringlets with two poppies on either side of her head and wearing a small crown.

"Who is she?" asked Dorothy wonderingly. "Is she a princess?"

"Yes, indeed," said Mr. Wogglebug. "She is the princess and the rightful of Oz, both yours and mine. Now, come we must hurry."

So Dorothy went to her closet and took out a small trunk in which she kept her Ruby Slippers. She took them out and put them on. Then taking hold of the Wogglebug's hand she clicked the heels together three times and chanted, "Take us to Oz!"


	2. Chapter 2

Dorothy and Mr. Wogglebug arrived moments later in Oz and as they walked down the Yellow Brick Road he told her more about their mission.

"The princess' name is Ozma and her parents, King Pastoria and Queen Lurline, ruled Oz before the Wizard came."

"What happened to them?" she asked.

"No one really knows," he said. "For on the day before Ozma was to be crowned the whole royal family disappeared and everyone's memories of them vanished and this was why everyone was so eager to have the Wizard rule over them when he came. Now it is quite believed that the Wicked Witches of the East and West had been responsible for enchanting the missing Monarchs and now that the two witches are dead the spell is halfway broken for everyone's memories of their former rulers have returned but they are still under their unknown enchantment for there was another unknown witch involved who still lives somewhere. Now what we must do is find them and destroy the witch's power and restore the Princess Ozma to the throne of Oz."

"Well, I understand everything except for one thing," said Dorothy. "What did you bring me here for?"

"Because everyone here knows of you as the great witch slayer of Oz and so they insisted I bring you here," Mr. Wogglebug explained.

"Me a witch slayer?" exclaimed Dorothy is disbelief. "But the two witches I killed was completely by accident!"

"Yes, I know," said Mr. Wogglebug. "But nevertheless you did away with those witches and I do believe you will be of valuable service to me on my mission."

"Well, can we at least get the Scarecrow and Tin Man and Lion to come with us, for I could never have gotten through all I did before if it hadn't been for them," Dorothy pleaded earnestly.

Mr. Wogglebug smiled. "I knew you would want them along and so now we are headed in the direction of Patchwork Land where the Scarecrow and his wife Scraps live."

They had now entered into a land where the ground was covered in soft squares of different colors with different patterns and patches and balls of yarn grew from trees and rivers flowed in folds of blue silk and the houses and fences were made of fabric and stuffed with cotton as were all of the inhabitants of the place.

They found a short stout elephant made of blueish silk whose body was a hodge podge of assorted patches and stepped up to him.

"Excuse us, Mr. Hodge Podge Elephant," said Mr. Wogglebug tipping his hat. "Could you please tell us where the Scarecrow and Scraps live?"

"Sure. They live right down there at Homespun Lane," replied the elephant pointing with his trunk.

"Thank you kindly," replied Mr. Wogglebug.

They approached the house in question and stepped up to the door and Mr. Wogglebug pulled a long cord which rang a small bell connected to it from above and within moments the Scarecrow himself opened the door with his new wife close beside him.

"Why hello, Dorothy! What a pleasant surprise!" the Scarecrow exclaimed in delight. "I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon!"

"Neither was I," admitted Dorothy smiling. "But Mr. Wogglebug said it was important."

"Dorothy meet the family, now of course you know Scraps here," said the Scarecrow gesturing to his wife. "And this is our son, Scarecrow Jr," he added and stepped slightly to the side allowing a little figure to appear in front of them.

They saw what looked like a miniature version of the Scarecrow himself with the same kind of clothing and straw stuffed gloves and boots and there was a mop of yellow straw on top of his head like hair with a blue cap on top and over his eyes were a pair of big round glasses which made him appear quite intelligent just like his father.

"You have offspring now? Why how delightful!" exclaimed Mr. Wogglebug who was very fond of children.

"But how could you two have children when you are... well... you know?" asked Dorothy uneasily.

The Scarecrow smiled understandingly and replied, "We made him in the same way I was made by the farmer of the cornfield you found me in, and he was brought to life by the power of our love for him."

"Ah! Nothing could be simpler I see!" declared Mr. Wogglebug. "How are you, young sir?" he said as he bent down to shake the little straw boy's hand. "I trust you are doing very well in school."

"I sure am," the boy replied proudly. "My Dad can tell you because he's my teacher."

"You are a teacher here now, Scarecrow?" inquired Dorothy.

"Yes, I am. I applied for the position and I now teach all of the patchwork children of the beings who live here," explained the Scarecrow.

"How unsurprising!" chuckled Mr. Wogglebug.

Scraps flashed a pearly toothed smile at her guests and sang out jubilantly:

"A vibrant scarecrow boy  
I've a son like no other  
He fills my patchwork heart with joy  
I'm so proud to be his mother!  
And his father is so grand  
So handsome and well-read  
By him I'd gladly stand  
No matter what may lie ahead

Together as a family  
We'll stay by each other's sides  
So do we all decree  
To stay together  
Forever and ever!"

"So, tell me what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" inquired the Scarecrow.

"Oh yes! We need your help in our searching for this girl," Mr. Wogglebug said as he pulled out the picture of Ozma and showed it to them.

"Hmm... I've never seen anyone like her before," mused the Scarecrow. "Who is she?"

"She is none other than Princess Ozma, the rightful heir to the throne of Oz," Mr. Wogglebug explained. "Have you heard of her?"

"Hmm... I may have heard something of her in passing," mulled the Scarecrow. "Where is she?"

"I'm afraid we don't know," replied Mr. Wogglebug. "You see, she and her family were kidnapped many years ago and placed under a powerful spell by the wicked witches of Oz that caused everyone to forget about them and now the spell is breaking as the memories of their past lives are gradually returning. So the correct thing to do would be for us to find Ozma and break the spell on her completely and thus restore her to her throne."

"I see," said the Scarecrow thoughtfully. "Well, I'll be glad to help you in any way I can. I'm sure the Tin Man and Lion would be as well."

"We intend to go see them next," Dorothy assured him.

"Goodbye my dear, take good care while I'm gone," said the Scarecrow as he gave Scraps a hug and kiss goodbye.

"Goodbye Jr.," he said to his son. "Now you be a good boy and study hard while I'm gone."

"I will, Pop," he said.

"How far is Mechanica where the Tin Man lives now with Miranda?" asked Dorothy as they were leaving Patchwork Land.

"Quite far from here," replied Mr. Wogglebug. "But I know a shortcut." And so saying he took from his vest pocket a small packet of round shaped pills. He swallowed one and said, "I wish we were all in Mechanica!"

In a second they were standing on a completely different landscape. The ground seemed to be made of solid shiny metal and dome shaped structures tall and small were everywhere all made of metal, namely tin and cast iron, and all of them had a windmill attached to the roof so as to blow away clouds containing rain.

They soon began to notice people made of metal walking along the streets, they all had a mechanical key in their backs like wind-up toys. Some had a mechanical cat or dog with them also. They found a mechanical mailman who was going from door to door delivering the post and they stepped up to him.

"Excuse us, could you please tell us where the Tin Man and Miranda the Milkmaid live?" asked Mr. Wogglebug.

"Certainly. They live up North in Tinseltown.," replied the metal mailman.

"Thank you very much," they all told him in unison.

"I bet our friend the Tin Man must really shine in a place like that," chuckled Mr. Wogglebug.

They entered Tinseltown and found the round tin house the mailman had directed them to and knocked on the shiny tin door. Within moments the door opened and the Tin Man himself appeared with a pretty mechanical girl with long blonde braids hanging down to her waist. She was wearing a milkmaid's cap and apron.

"Dorothy! How wonderful it is to see you again so soon!" exclaimed the Tin Man as he gave Dorothy a gentle hug. "Oh, and you too, Scarecrow," he added quickly. "Miranda, you remember Dorothy, don't you?"

"Of course," said Miranda, nodding in Dorothy's direction. "If it hadn't been for you my beloved might never have come back to me, and I don't know how to thank you enough."

"Neither do I," added the Tin Man. "And look at what we've made with our love."

As he spoke a small figure came out from behind him. It looked like a little boy made entirely of tin wearing a pair of blue overalls. He looked just like the Tin Man and also wore a funnel on his head.

"This is your child?" asked Dorothy, though she was sure she knew already.

"Yes, indeed," said the Tin Man. "His name is-"

"I know. Tin Boy," said Dorothy with a slight chuckle.

"Hello, little fellow," said Mr. Wogglebug as he bent down to the tin boy. "You look like a very bright young lad."

"Thank you, sir," replied the Tin Boy smiling brightly.

"I am very proud of him," said the Tin Man. "He is the leader of the Tin Boy scouts which me and Miranda founded and I am their coach."

"I always knew you had your heart in the right place," said Mr. Wogglebug.

"Can we get you anything?" asked Miranda. "Is there a reason you've come to visit?"

"Oh yes, indeed," said Mr. Wogglebug. "The Princess Ozma, the rightful heir of Oz, has been missing and now newly discovered information may yet lead to her whereabouts. We were hoping you, Tin Man, would be willing to accompany us on our mission."

"I certainly am willing," said the Tin Man. "Miranda, you'll be alright while I'm away, won't you?"

"Of course I'll be," she assured him. "You must go with your friends, I have great faith in you that your heart will guide you to succeed on your mission."

The Tin Man bent down to hug his son goodbye. "You be a good boy and take care of your mother while I am away."

"I will, Pop," he assured him.

"I would like for the Lion to come with us," said the Tin Man as they left the house. "But he lives in the Great Forest on the other side of Oz."

"It isn't far with the way I travel," Mr. Wogglebug assured him. "I'll have us there in a jiffy." He took out another one of his wishing pills and swallowed it. "I wish we were in the Lion's Forest!"

Then before they could blink they found themselves standing in a lush green forest filled with moss covered trees and various plants like flowers and mushrooms. As they listened they could hear many insects chirping and also other animal sounds coming from within the forest. They walked through for a short time before they came upon a large spotted leopard who was holding a large scroll of paper in one paw.

They approached him and Mr. Wogglebug said, "Excuse us, sir. Could you please tell us the way to King Lion's domain?"

"I am just now on my way back there," replied the leopard. "I'll lead you there."

And so he led them a short ways through the forest and they entered a clearing in which they found a fair sized palace that looked to be constructed of bamboo branches. And entering it they found the Lion himself seated on an ivory throne and holding a scepter in his paw which looked like it were also made of bamboo with an ivory head.

As soon as he saw all of his old friends had come to visit him a huge grin broke across his face and he leapt off of his throne and rushed towards them with his arms outreached.

"Dorothy! Scarecrow! Tin Man! How grand it is to see you all again! Welcome to my Kingdom!" he exclaimed with a royal flourish.

Then he turned toward the yellow and black spotted leopard and addressed him. "I trust you bring me good news?"

"I do, sire, indeed," the leopard assured him. "I come to announce that the whole Kingdom has officially accepted their invitations to the royal wedding."

"A wedding? Why Lion, are you getting married?" asked Dorothy in astonishment.

The Lion grinned once again. "I sure am," he said. "When I came back here I was very happy to be ruling over all the animals and yet there still seemed to be something missing. I asked my court advisors about it and they suggested I was lonely and in need of a companion to help me rule the forest and so I threw a royal ball and invited every lioness... and I met her. I met Zuza!"

"_I had just been introduced to all the lionesses who had come and they all looked so eager to be the first one to dance with me and I was having difficulty deciding which one I would choose, and then I saw one very young looking lioness with light tawny fur glancing at me over her shoulder from behind most of the other lionesses. _

_She looked so cute and sweet she instantly captured my heart. I approached her and bowed and extending my paw. She blushed and looked at me from the corner of her eye. She said,_

_'It displeases me, Your Highness,  
That I've a bad case of shyness,_

_Of which I must confess  
I just stay scared and glance at you  
When I could be romancing you  
If I only was fearless!'_

_Joining her in song, I said,_

_'Well, you see, my feline beauty  
You're really quite a cutie  
So elegant and neat  
I'd be honored to dance  
Please don't mind if I advance  
On a Lioness so sweet!' _

_She took my offered paw and replied,_

_'__It fills my heart with glee__  
__For one as shy as me__  
__To consider the call__  
__I'll try to show no blindness__  
__And I'll repay your kindness__  
__And dance at the forest ball!'_

_And we danced and she slowly got over her shyness._

_'Of course I wouldn't mind  
It would help me to unwind  
I could leave my chronic shyness behind  
And at a dance so refined  
Perhaps we'll find  
Our hearts entwined!' _

_Later in the evening we sat under the moonlight and we talked._

"_I used to be shy just like you," I admitted. "I was scared of everyone and everything, even my own shadow." I was surprised to be admitting this to a lioness but she really seemed like she would understand. "But then I met Dorothy."_

"_Who is Dorothy?" she asked._

"_She is a human girl from a faraway land called Kansas," I continued. "And she showed me I had courage all along. It was right inside of me and I just didn't see it there until I looked in."_

_'I used to be afraid  
Of everything you see  
No one could be  
More scared than me!_

_But much to my surprise  
With my friends, I realized  
I didn't need to hide  
Cause near them I found  
That I could stand my ground  
I had courage deep inside!' _

"Then before I knew it we were engaged," the Lion finished his story.

"I'm so happy for you, Lion!" exclaimed Dorothy. "When is the wedding?"

"We don't know yet," said the Lion. "We plan to have it sometime during next month or so."

"Good, then that will give you time to help us to solve a most puzzling mystery we have on our hands," said Mr. Wogglebug. "It concerns the rightful heir to Oz, Princess Ozma. She had vanished without a trace many years ago and now she must be found again now that most of the witches have been put to their untimely ends."

"You mean there are more wicked witches in Oz?" asked the Lion in surprise.

"Well, there is one up in the Northern region," Mr. Wogglebug explained. "We don't know who she really is though for she keeps herself well hidden as she does most of the spells she casts."

"Well, no wicked witch can get by me!" said the Lion. "I'll come with you and bring this witch out on her toes!"

"I knew you'd be in for it!" said Mr. Wogglebug delightedly.

After the Lion quickly instructed the leopard to look after the forest while he was away and to tell his fiance where he was going they left the palace.

"So where do we go now?" asked the Lion.

"I am afraid I don't really know," Mr. Wogglebug admitted rather sadly. "You see I... Oh! Look, it must be Glinda!"

He pointed towards the sky, they all looked up and sure enough they saw Glinda's big pink bubble floating down toward them. It landed softly on the ground and out of it emerged the Good Witch of the North herself.

"Greetings, dear friends," she said, smiling sweetly.

"Hello, Ms. Glinda!" said Mr. Wogglebug bowing deeply. "I trust you already know why we have reunited and what we must do next and that you have something to aid us on our mission?"

"Yes, in fact I do," confirmed Glinda. "First I have this mirror," there appeared in her right hand a small hand mirror made of rubies with the clearest and shiniest glass ever seen. "It will show you the reality of everyone and everything you encounter and prevent you from being easily deceived. Next I have this key, "a tiny golden key with an emerald studded handle and the Oz emblem engraved in its head appeared in her hand. "This will open any kind of door you happen to find, so use it wisely. Last but not least I have this map," in her hand appeared a large rolled up map tied together with a red ribbon. "It will guide you through your journey and show you all of the right places to go."

"Thank you, Ms. Glinda," Mr. Wogglebug said as he took the three items from her. "I promise we'll use them wisely and we'll find Ozma and rid the Land of Oz of it's last witch!"


	3. Chapter 3

Glinda disappeared into her bubble and floated away.

"Isn't Glinda most clever and thoughtful!" exclaimed Dorothy. "Giving us a map for our journey! Now we have something to guide us!"

Mr. Wogglebug smiled broadly as he turned to face his companions. "Yes, indeed, and," he added as he opened it up to look at it, "judging by the glowing green arrow here it is one of those rare enchanted maps that keeps you on the right mark and out of straying into trouble."

They all looked at the map and sure enough they could see a small green glowing arrow pointing to where they were now, which was somewhere in the North of the red Quadling Country, and as they watched carefully they could also see a series of little green dots flashing on and off leading away from where they were now.

"So, it seems according to the map we should go this way," said Mr. Wogglebug pointing toward the Northwest.

So, following the map's lead, they walked easily through the forest until they reached the far edge of it where they were all much surprised to see standing in front of them a wall high above their heads which appeared to be made entirely of smooth white china.

"Now what in the name of Oz is this?" inquired the Scarecrow.

"It looks to me like the Great Wall of China," replied Mr. Wogglebug with a chuckle.

"I've read all about that in school," said Dorothy. "But what could it be doing here?"

"And how can we get over it?" asked the Scarecrow

"I can build us a ladder out of one of the trees around here," answered the Tin Man.

"Good," said Mr. Wogglebug. "For we certainly must climb over the wall as the dots on the map continue on the other side of it."

After a time the ladder was finished. It looked rather clumsily constructed but the Tin Man was sure it was strong and would answer their purpose. The Scarecrow climbed up the ladder first and he was so awkward that Dorothy had to follow close behind and keep him from falling off.

When he got his head over the top of the wall the Scarecrow said, "Oh, my!"

"Go on," urged Dorothy.

So the Scarecrow climbed further up and sat down on the top of the wall, and Dorothy put her head over and exclaimed, "Oh, my!" just as the Scarecrow had done.

The Lion climbed the ladder next, and the Tin Man came after him, followed closely by the Wogglebug. The Lion and Tin Man both exclaimed "Oh, my!" as soon as they looked over the wall. But the Wogglebug merely smiled and stared in awe at the beauty of the sight.

Before them was a great stretch of country having a floor as smooth and shining as the bottom of a big platter. Scattered around were many houses made entirely of china and painted in the brightest colors. These houses were quite small, the biggest of them reaching only about a foot high. There were also pretty little barns, with china fences around them; and many cows and sheep and horses and pigs and chickens, all made of china, were standing about in groups.

But the strangest of all were the people who lived in this queer country. There were milkmaids and shepherdesses, with bright-colored bodices and golden spots all over their gowns; and princesses with most gorgeous frocks of silver and gold and purple, and shepherds dressed in knee breeches with pink and yellow and blue stripes down them, and golden buckles on their shoes; and princes with jeweled crowns upon their heads, wearing ermine robes and satin doublets; and funny clowns in ruffled gowns, with round spots upon their cheeks and tall, pointed caps. And strangest of all, these people were all made of china, even to their clothes, and were so small that the tallest of them was no higher than seven inches.

No one did so much as look at the travelers at first, except one little purple china dog with an extra large head, which came to the wall and barked at them in a tiny voice, afterward running away again.

"How shall we get down?" asked Dorothy.

They found the ladder so heavy they could not pull it up, so the Scarecrow fell off the wall and the others jumped down upon him so that the hard floor would not hurt their feet. When all were safely down they picked up the Scarecrow and, whose body was quite flattened out, patted his straw into shape again.

"It seems we must cross this china country to get to the other side," Mr. Wogglebug said. "For it would be unwise for us to go any other way except the way which the map points us in."

"We must also be very careful on our way around here," added the Tin Man, "or we may hurt these pretty little people so they will never get over it."

They began walking through the country of the china people, and the first thing that caught their attention was a sweet sounding melody, soft and soothing to the ear and looking down at their feet they saw a young man with a round face, sharp green eyes and a head of shiny golden hair. His cloak and tunic were bright yellow, trimmed along the edges with gold thread, and on his feet he wore a pair of black boots. In his hands he held a beautiful golden harp, and he plucked on the strings with loving care.

"Hello," said Dorothy. "You're music is beautiful."

"Thank you, my fair lady," replied the tiny man in a smooth baritone. "I am Sir Dashabout the minstrel and I am practicing my new song for the princess of china town."

"Why?" asked Dorothy curiously.

"Why because I am in love with her," replied the minstrel. "And also because she is holding a contest now to see which lover can impress her the most and half the men of China Town are competing in it."

"They are?" asked Dorothy.

The minstrel nodded. "Just look over at Mr. Joker."

They looked to their left and saw a jolly looking little clown in pretty clothes of red and yellow and green. His body was completely covered in cracks, running every which way and showing plainly that he had been mended in many places. He was now juggling a set of tiny round balls that matched the colors of his baggy clothing and with much dexterity.

When he looked up and saw the giant sized travelers he gave quite a start and let all of his balls slip from his hands and crash onto the ground shattering in pieces everywhere. But he just looked down and laughed off the mishap and then bent over and stood on his head for a moment with his legs straight in the air and then he did a double somersault which caused him to nick his left elbow and crack off two pieces in the side of his head as well as his left foot. This looked so comical that Dorothy giggled.

The little clown stood up again and put his hands in his pockets and puffed out his cheeks, and nodding his head saucily at them he said:

"My lady fair,  
Why do you stare  
At poor old Mr. Joker?  
You're quite as stiff  
And prim as if  
You'd eaten up a poker!"

"Be quiet, sir!" said the minstrel, "can't you see these are strangers, and should be treated with respect?"

"Well, that's respect, I expect," declared the clown, and then stood on his head again.

"Don't mind Mr. Joker," said the minstrel to them, "he is considerably cracked in his head, and that makes him foolish."

"Oh, I don't mind him at all," said Dorothy. "But I do love your music. Will you keep playing it?"

"Certainly," he replied, and began plucking at his harp's strings again and singing softly as he did so.

"I could look at you for hours  
For you have skin white as milk,  
Hair strewn with flowers,

Gowns of the finest silk,  
Eyes so blue as the sea  
They bring others to envy!"

"That is so romantic!" sighed Dorothy.

Just then they heard a loud and tiny voice cry out, "El Toro! El Toro!"

They looked straight to their right and saw a tiny little man wearing shiny black clothes and a black hat with a wide brim pointing at either sides and covering most of his black hair. His complexion was darker than other china people and he sported a thin curved black mustache and when he spoke he sounded like he was half Spanish. In his hands he was carrying a large red silk cape and running away from something. They soon saw it was a shiny black bull with a tiny head with two protruding horns and a large behind barreling behind it.

The bull stopped at full speed when it nearly collided with the Tin Man's foot. The little black clad man stopped too, panting for breath. "Thank you!" he exclaimed gratefully. "You have surely saved me from being broken!"

"Pity though that the bull wasn't," airily remarked Mr. Wogglebug, "for then you might have been able to ride upon him, ha ha!" The little bull fighter laughed with him while the bull snorted.

"But why was the bull after you?" asked Dorothy.

"Why I've been trying to tame him so I can win the princess's heart," he explained.

"You too?" exclaimed Dorothy.

"Yes, indeed," replied the little bull fighter. "In fact she doesn't live far from here. Her castle is straight ahead up there."

They looked up ahead and could faintly see a large shining castle made of the finest china and painted light pink and blue.

"Let's go there now. I would like to meet this princess," said Dorothy.

"So would I," added Mr. Wogglebug, "for if she is a princess she may know something about the missing heir to Oz."

So they bade goodbye to the little bull fighter and approached the castle. When they were in front of it they saw it was as high as Dorothy's waist and bending down to the level of it they could see a tiny girl standing on one of the balconies of it. She had long shiny golden hair that reached her shoulders and deep sea blue eyes and she wore a long dark green gown trimmed with golden thread at all the edges, and resting upon her head was a tiny golden crown inlaid with many emeralds. In spite of her immense beauty she had a rather forlorn expression upon her dainty features.

"Hello," said Dorothy. "Are you the princess who is holding a contest for suitors?"

"Yes, I am," replied the princess in a voice like tinkling bells. "I am just so bored with myself and my life here that I long for someone to adore as much as they adore me, and when everyone adores you that can be very difficult to find," she let out a weary sigh.

They all looked upon her with sympathy and Mr. Wogglebug stepped forward and taking out the picture of Ozma he asked, "Tell me, have you seen this girl?"

The china princess looked at the picture and her face lit up in astonishment and she gasped audibly before she exclaimed, "Why yes, indeed! She is, or was, Ozma, the rightful heir to the throne of Oz!"

Mr. Wogglebug looked quite pleased. "I take it then that you knew her?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, I certainly did!" exclaimed the princess. "I used to live with her, in fact. I was a present to her from her father and I stayed on her dressing table and I would listen as she told me all of her secrets, I think I was her best friend. But now she is gone and I had to escape and come here when she disappeared!"

"She did disappear, but that doesn't have to mean she is gone," Mr. Wogglebug assured her. "For now that you and everyone who knew about her is recovering their memories of her because the spell placed on her is losing its power there truly may be hope that she could be found safe."

"Oh I do hope so!" exclaimed the china princess. "My life was never the same without her!"

"We're on a mission to find her again," said Dorothy. "You can come along with us if you like, and you can ride inside my dress pocket."

The princess considered this for a moment and then responded regretfully, "No, thank you. For I am much afraid of being broken along the way, and besides I may be able to find my love here soon."

"We understand," said Dorothy. "Thank you for giving us new information about Ozma."

"Goodbye," replied the princess.

They walked carefully through the china country. The little animals and all the people scampered out of their way, fearing the strangers would break them, and after an hour or so the travelers reached the other side of the country and came to another china wall. It was not as high as the first, however, and by standing upon the Lion's back they all managed to scramble to the top. Then the Lion gathered his legs under him and jumped on the wall and over it.


	4. Chapter 4

The five companions passed through the rest of the forest in safety, and when they came out from it they saw before them a steep hill, covered from top to bottom with great pieces of rock.

"That will be a hard climb," said Mr. Wogglebug. "But we must get over the hill nevertheless, for the map continues over on the other side."

So he led the way up the hillside and the others followed him. They had nearly reached the first rock when they heard a rough voice cry out, "Keep back!"

"Who are you?" asked the Scarecrow.

Then a head showed itself over the rock and the same voice said, "This hill belongs to us, and we don't allow anyone to cross it!"

"But we must cross it," said the Scarecrow.

"But you shall not!" replied the voice, and there stepped from behind the rock the strangest and ugliest creature any of them had ever seen.

It was very short and stout, about a foot and a half tall, and it's lower body was covered in thick prickly black hair and its feet were two small stumps protruding from underneath. It had a big head, which was flat at the top and supported by a thick neck full of wrinkles and it had two large beady eyes with a terribly fierce look in them and a scowl upon its face. But he had no arms at all, and, seeing this, the Scarecrow did not fear that so helpless a creature could prevent them from climbing the hill.

So he replied very calmly, "I'm sorry to have to disobey you, but we must pass over your hill whether you like it or not," and he walked boldly forward.

"Wait, Scarecrow!" cried out Mr. Wogglebug. "He looks like a-"

Then, as quick as lightning, the creature's head shot forward and his neck stretched out until the top of the head, where it was flat, struck the Scarecrow in the middle and sent him tumbling, over and over, down the hill. Almost as quickly as it came the head went back to the body, and the creature laughed harshly as it said, "It isn't as easy as you think!"

"That was what I was trying to warn you about," Mr. Wogglebug said sadly as he picked up the Scarecrow and set him upright again. "Those creatures are known as Hammerheads, and I know I need not explain why."

A chorus of boisterous laughter came from the other rocks, and hundreds of the armless Hammerheads were seen upon the hillside, one behind every rock.

The Lion became quite angry at the laughter caused by the Scarecrow's mishap, and giving a loud roar that echoed like thunder he dashed up the hill. Again a head shot swiftly out, and the great Lion went rolling down a hill as if he had been struck by a cannon ball.

Dorothy ran down and helped the Lion to his feet again. Feeling rather bruised and sore he said, "It is useless to fight people with shooting heads; no one can withstand them."

"What can we do then?" asked Dorothy is despair.

Mr. Wogglebug needed only a second to consider what to do. "I know what to do," he said. "I'll reason with them."

"Reason!" exclaimed the Scarecrow incredulously. "With them? But you can't! They'll just knock you out!"

"They won't if I talk quickly enough," Mr. Wogglebug assured him easily.

The others looked nervous for him as he stood facing the hill covered with Hammerheads at a safe distance and clearing his throat quickly he spoke boldly to them. "Listen, all of you Hammerheads! I know you don't want us to cross over your hill and I know that must mean you are guarding something protectively that belongs to you. Well, whatever it is we don't mean to cause you any harm."

The Hammerheads stood scowling at him as he spoke and for a time seemed to be considering whether to answer him or not. Finally one of the larger ones spoke up. "We need to protect our offspring, our little ones, who are so tiny and frail with necks that can barely extend yet that have no means of protecting themselves and when they are disturbed they make quite a racket."

"I quite understand indeed," Mr. Wogglebug told them. "Though still I am afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so... so rude to anyone who needs to cross over here. And why is such a barren hill spot like this your home dwelling anyway?"

"We were put here by an old witch named Mombi," said the Hammerhead. "She said she was a good witch and knew we needed a safe place to protect ourselves and she said she would help us if we helped her by keeping intruders from crossing over this hillside and so we've been here and doing so ever since."

Mr. Wogglebug became very thoughtful as he listened. "Well," he said at last. "Whether the witch's intentions were good or not this is certainly no place for you to protect yourselves and you kin. And it just so happens I know of a much safer place for you that is close to the desert that surrounds this land where you will be almost certainly able to keep away unwanted intruders and live much more contently. Would you like that?"

"We would like that very much," replied the Hammerhead. "But we are practically helpless to get ourselves there. For you see our legs are so short and can't get us very far, and also we have no means of which to carry our little ones."

"No need to worry," Mr. Wogglebug said cheerily. "For I still have one wishing pill left which is good for making one more wish and I'll have you to your new home in a jiffy!"

He took out the little box from his vest pocket which contained one last wishing pill. And after swallowing it he spoke in a slow impressive voice, "I wish the Hammerheads to go to where they can be safe and keep away any real danger to them and Oz!"

And no sooner had he finished speaking than did all of the Hammerheads pop out of sight.

"Are you sure they'll really go to a better place for them to live where they won't be bothered by anyone?" asked Dorothy.

"My wishing pills have never failed me before and I have put my faith in them so many times before," Mr. Wogglebug replied easily. "And since that was my last one now we'll just have to find our way around obstacles some other way. Come on!"

And so they climbed up the hill and stood on top of the other side. The land was quite barren on top of the hill with hardly any grass and there were also a lot of holes in the ground which they assumed the Hammerheads must have lived in. As they moved further ahead they saw a dip in the landscape which led down into a grove of the biggest and thickest trees any of them had ever seen.

"It seems we should cross through that grove of trees over there," Mr. Wogglebug said pointing to them. "For the map continues on the other side."

So they went to the edge of the hill and slid down the side one behind the other. Once they were inside the grove of trees in which there was very little light coming from above with so many branches in the way they picked themselves up and looked around.

"I've never seen such big and strange looking trees before!" said Dorothy. "And look at those peculiar looking creatures hanging upside down on the branches. They must be bats!"

And indeed they all could see very large structures that looked like wings drooping down from above the highest branches, though they were all so big that they reached almost to their feet.

Mr. Wogglebug walked around looking at the strange creatures, and for a moment it looked like he was going to touch one of them when suddenly his face lit up and his eyes opened very wide and he gave a short gasp and exclaimed, "Why these aren't bats at all! These are butterflies! The biggest ones I've ever seen!"

They all looked more closely at the giant sized wings and sure enough in the dim light of the grove they could see their wings were many different colors of red, yellow, blue, purple, and pink, and also looking down they could see a long pair of antennae dangling from the tiny heads of each one of them.

"Why you're right!" exclaimed Dorothy.

"But what could they be doing here just hanging around when it seems they could be flying around in the open air?" Mr. Wogglebug wondered aloud.

"We stay in here because we have to," said a low whispering voice which seemed to be coming from one of the butterflies around them.

Everyone seemed quite startled to hear the butterfly speak, but Mr. Wogglebug remained calm beside them. "But why do you have to?" he inquired. "I am afraid I do not understand."

"We were warned by an old witch named Mombi to never come out of here for it was dangerous in the outside and that there are things like fires and storms and bolts of lightning that could harm us if we flew out into the open air."

"But it doesn't seem right that you should confine yourselves in here where no one can see you," said Mr. Wogglebug very feelingly. "I mean, you are the biggest, brightest, most glorious butterflies in all of Oz and so you deserve to be seen and admired by everyone. I used to be a tiny little wogglebug and then when I became highly magnified I was seeing the world from a whole new perspective and I couldn't wait to explore it, and, trust me, there is no limit to the wonders you can find out there."

"Anyone who sees you is sure to love you dearly," added the Tin Man.

"And there are sure to be many flowers out there for you to land on," added Dorothy.

"And there is really nothing to be afraid of out there," added the Lion. "I used to be scared of everything too in my past days and never left my spot in the forest. But then when I came out of the forest I discovered that I was much bigger and braver than anything that scared me in the world."

"You would be wise to listen to my friend the Lion," asserted Mr. Wogglebug. "He really does know what he is talking about. And also your great size will help prevent you from meeting with very much danger as you can fly away from it much more swiftly than ordinary sized butterflies, and before it starts to rain your senses will pick it up quick and you will be able to find shelter before your precious wings get wet."

"So just spread your wings and fly out of here, it's easy I'm sure," the Scarecrow added.

"Well," said the butterfly who had spoken. "If you're really sure of all you say then I suppose it couldn't hurt to just take a look. Come on, brothers and sisters, let's fly!"

Then all of the butterflies gracefully opened up their wings and spread them out, unleashing their hold on the branches, and lifted themselves slowly up into the air and floated higher and higher until they finally broke free of the treetops, and breaking some leaves loose with the ends of their wings as the did so, and scattered through to the air above.

The five friends quickly rushed outside of the grove of big trees so that they could watch the butterflies fly away. Looking up, they saw the magnificent sight of a hundred giant sized butterflies flying away through the air above their heads.

"Oh, my! How beautiful they all look, and how happy!" exclaimed Dorothy breathlessly.

Mr. Wogglebug chuckled slightly and waved to the butterflies who were drifting further and further away. "Goodbye!" he called out, "and good luck!"

"Where will they go now?" asked the Lion.

"Wherever the wind takes them I suppose," said Mr. Wogglebug. Then he pointed up above in front of them and exclaimed with delight, "Oh look! One of them is coming back!"

Sure enough, a bright blue one with violet tipped wings swooped down in front of them. Landing gently it stood upright and spoke to them in a squeaky voice.

"I am the oldest of the butterflies and therefore I have come back to thank you all for giving us the courage to see the light of the sun again. We never even suspected that old witch had been tricking us all along. Now I would like to know if there is anything I can do for you in return."

"Well, nothing I can think of," said Dorothy.

"Wait a minute! Yes, there is something you can do!" exclaimed Mr. Wogglebug as he looked once again at their map. "You can fly us from here to here," he showed the butterfly the map and pointed out the destinations. "For you see this map is telling us we must pass through this great wide canyon next and we cannot do it by ourselves."

"Only too happy to oblige," returned the butterfly cheerily. "Hop on my back and I'll have you there in no time at all."

Mr. Wogglebug mounted first, sitting just behind the butterfly's head and he gestured to the others to get on. "All aboard the butterfly express! And be sure you don't slip off!"

Dorothy, then the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion each sat behind him in between the butterfly's wings and then it gave its wings a light flap and took to the air once again with new friends and passengers on board.


	5. Chapter 5

The five travelers were flying through the air on the giant butterfly, soaring just beneath the clouds. They were all enjoying the butterfly's gentle sailing on the wind as its wings gracefully glided up and down.

"Whee! This is fun!" exclaimed the Lion with his arms outstretched and his mane blowing in the wind.

"I've always imagined what it would be like to ride on a butterfly," said Dorothy. "And now I know it's more fun than riding on a horse."

Mr. Wogglebug meanwhile was checking over their map. "We are making excellent progress," he said. Then he looked straight ahead and pointed as he cried out, "Look ahead! It's a castle! It's the biggest one I ever saw!"

They all looked and sure enough they could see a tall castle made of dark gray stones far in the distance.

"It is indeed!" exclaimed the Scarecrow. "Who do you suppose lives in it?"

"I don't know," replied Mr. Wogglebug. "Though it looks like a very ancient castle out of a medieval storybook. Though I don't suppose we'll find a king in it in this part of the country."

"Maybe a monster lives in it," suggested the Lion. "Or goblins."

"Or maybe a witch who is holding Ozma prisoner in it," suggested Dorothy.

"Why I never thought she or the witch might be in it!" exclaimed Mr. Wogglebug. "I suppose we should go in and find out, and the map does seem to be leading us up to it now. Fly up towards the castle, Mr. Butterfly."

"Your wish is my command," replied the butterfly.

So the butterfly flew them right up to the castle and when they were in front of it they saw it was even bigger than it looked before and below them they could see many flowers in a yard of tall green grass, mostly there were tulips.

"I've never seen such big and beautiful flowers," said Dorothy.

"Neither have I," said the butterfly. "And it's been so long since I've felt of flowers I'd like to land on one. If it's alright with you?"

"Go right ahead," said Mr. Wogglebug. "I used to like to curl up in flowers close to the ground at night before I was highly magnified."

So the butterfly fluttered down gracefully and landed on one of the biggest and reddest tulips there were.

"This tulip feels even softer than my bed at home," said Dorothy. "And it smells so wonderful!"

"It reminds me of my childhood," said Mr. Wogglebug with a contented sigh. "Come to think of it, everything around here does because it seems everything, the grass, the rocks, and the mushrooms growing underneath the castle's hedges, are at least ten feet tall. Hmm... I wonder... Say, do you hear something coming?"

They all listened and they could hear something big and heavy coming toward them. It was making the grass rustle and the wind blow a little stronger as well. Then suddenly they saw a big wall of red in front of them and then the next moment they saw what looked like a large mesh of tight strings all over them. Then they felt themselves tumbling with the butterfly off of the tulip and into the great net.

"What's happening now?" exclaimed Dorothy as they felt as if they were rushing forward on the wind inside the net.

"I don't know," admitted Mr. Wogglebug. "But I do have my suspicions I'm afraid."

Just then they heard a very loud voice shout, "Mama, Mama! I caught a butterfly!"

Mr. Wogglebug moaned. "It's just as I'd feared. We've landed on the estate of a family of giants and now their little girl has caught us."

"If she is a little girl I am a mosquito," grumbled the butterfly unnerved.

"What is going to happen to us now?" asked the Lion fearfully.

"I can't be sure," admitted Mr. Wogglebug, "for I have never been caught before. Not like this."

They felt themselves being carried by the giant girl into a kitchen in which the mother giantess stood at a counter top mixing some things into a bowl.

"Mama! Look at the butterfly I caught!" exclaimed the giantess girl.

"That's nice, dear," replied the giantess mother, barely looking over from her work. "Put it in a jar quickly before it gets away."

So then the giant girl got a glass jar out of the cupboard and quickly took off the lid and then took hold of the net the captives were caught in and reached inside and closed her hand around them and then carefully dropped them all into the jar and afterwards sealed the lid tightly on top.

They all tumbled down into the jar and hit the bottom hard. They looked around and could hazily see the outside of their surroundings from inside the jar's thick glass walls.

"Well, this is a fine situation we've gotten into!" exclaimed the Scarecrow as he clumsily stood up.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Dorothy.

"Well, we'd best get out of here somehow soon before we run out of air," said the butterfly. "I'm so embarrassed at being caught."

"Now, now," Mr. Wogglebug said trying to console him. "You and I are both big bugs with big brains and we can surely use them to get ourselves out of here in some way. Now let us all think."

They sat down to think and soon the Scarecrow stood up and spoke. "Hey, this prison we're in is made of glass, right? And glass is very fragile, right? So if we can just somehow get the glass to break we'll all be free!"

"What a good idea, Scarecrow!" exclaimed Dorothy.

"Let me have a go at it!" said the the Tin Man. He then kicked at the left side of the glass wall with his foot and also hit it with his fist. He managed to make a few cracks in the places where he had struck it but not more than that.

Mr. Wogglebug examined the nicks made in the glass and said, "It seems the jar is too big and the glass is too thick and we are all too small to break it enough to get out. But I have another idea!" he added brightly. "You see the top up there that is keeping it closed and thus holding us in? If we can just reach up there and unscrew the lid then we can all get out."

"But how can we?" asked the butterfly. "It looks so far up."

"I think maybe if we take turns standing on your shoulders then we could all get it off one bit at a time," Mr. Wogglebug replied easily.

So they all agreed to try this. Mr. Wogglebug went first and standing on the butterfly's shoulders he reached up and began turning the lid of the jar from the inside. He turned it around until his arms were tired. Then the Scarecrow went next, although straw-stuffed cotton gloved hands could barely move it more than an inch. Then the Lion took his turn and his claws were easily able to get underneath the lid. Then Dorothy went and did her best so that it was almost loose enough. Then finally the Tin Man went and with his strong metal hands he turned the lid so well that it was soon loose all the way and then he reached up and pushed off the lid so that it fell beside the jar with a clink.

Then one at a time they climbed out of the jar. First the Tin Man, then the Scarecrow, then Dorothy, then the Lion, then Mr. Wogglebug, then at last the butterfly climbed out and spread its wings and floated down beside them and they all mounted onto its back again.

"We're free!" exclaimed the Lion as they flew up again.

"But how are going to get out of here now?" asked Dorothy. "The window is closed."

"We'll have to ask the Giantess here," Mr. Wogglebug decided.

"Do you think it's safe?" asked the Scarecrow.

"We'll have to take our chances," Mr. Wogglebug said.

They flew in front of the window in front of the giantess and the butterfly asked, "Excuse me, could you open the window for me, please?"

The Giantess looked up and glanced around her as if searching for the source of the voice and then she found the butterfly in front of the window beside her and and looked startled to say the least.

"Oh! I'm sorry," she said. "Are you the butterfly my daughter caught earlier?"

"Yes, it is I," said the butterfly.

"But how did you get out of the jar?" asked the giantess in confusion.

"My five passengers here helped me unscrew the lid that held us captive," the butterfly replied."

"Oh! I am sorry about that," exclaimed the giantess. "My daughter has just always loved to chase butterflies and you are the biggest one I've ever seen. Though I must say your passengers are the tiniest people I've ever seen."

"It may be that we are very small, or it may be that you are very big," said Mr. Wogglebug. "But a person is still a person, no matter how big or small."

"You are a very wise little bug," said the giantess.

"Why, thank you... I think," said Mr. Wogglebug who wasn't used to being called little in a long time.

"What are you making," asked Dorothy, noting the bowl with the mixture in it which was laid out before the giantess.

"I am making a strawberry cake for my husband. It's his birthday today," she explained. "Now if I could only remember where I put the strawberries."

Dorothy looked around and then spotted a large bowl of strawberries on a table outside the window in the sunlight. "There they are out there," she exclaimed.

The giantess looked out the window and saw them. "Oh thank you," she said gratefully. "Strawberries are my husband's favorite."

Just then they heard a loud wailing coming from what sounded like the next room.

"Oh dear, there's my baby waking up unhappily again," the giantess sighed.

The giantess went into the next room and they followed her being carried by the butterfly. They found a large crib inside of which was a large baby that was sobbing its heart out. The giantess mother picked it up and rocked it and tried to sooth it but to no avail.

"Oh dear," she moaned. "I do wish I knew how to get him to hush."

Dorothy thought a moment and then whispered into the giantess's ear as the butterfly flew beside it. "I remember a lullaby Aunt Em used to sing to me every night." She told her the lyrics to the song and then the giantess sang them softly to the crying baby.

"A gentle breeze from Hushabye Mountain  
Softly blows o'er lullaby bay.  
It fills the sails of boats that are waiting-  
Waiting to sail your worries away.  
It isn't far to Hushabye Mountain  
And your boat waits down by the key.  
The winds of night so softly are sighing-  
Soon they will fly your troubles to sea.  
So close your eyes on Hushabye Mountain.  
Wave good-bye to cares of the day.  
And watch your boat from Hushabye Mountain  
Sail far away from lullaby bay."

The lullaby worked wondrously and the baby's wails calmed and then stopped and he fell back asleep in his mother's arms.

"Oh thank you once again," said the giantess very gratefully. "What can I do for you in return?"

"You can set us free, that is all we wish," said Mr. Wogglebug.

And so the after the giantess laid her baby down in his crib again she went over to the window and opened it and the butterfly flew out of it carrying its passengers with it.


	6. Chapter 6

After leaving the Giants' castle they flew onward for a while until the butterfly said, "I think I would like to stop to rest for a little while for my wings are getting tired."

Mr. Wogglebug looked at the map and then looked below them and said, "You can land us right down here in the Rainbow Forest for the map seems to be stopping us there for some reason so I reckon we must have some important business there."

So the butterfly landed in a nice clear spot in the middle of the forest which they soon found out why it was called the Rainbow Forest for every tree was a different color or a different shade of a color. There were large evergreen trees, and giant redwood trees, and silver sycamore trees, and yellow euculaptous trees, and pink pine trees, and purple oak trees.

"Well this is certainly the most colorful forest I have ever seen," said Dorothy. "I wonder if anything lives here."

"If I remember correctly," said Mr. Wogglebug. "The Rainbow Forest is the home of the clown-gnomes, or the gnome-clowns. I hear their the most delightful of all of the creatures in Oz and they may be familiar with Ozma."

"Then let's go look for them!" exclaimed Dorothy eagerly.

They ventured through the forest looking around every tree they could find. Then suddenly they came upon a wondrously curious sight.

There was a little girl, radiant and beautiful and with the shape of a fairy, dancing gracefully in the middle of a clearing in the forest, whirling and twirling herself around every which way with her feet skipping up and down gaily. She was wearing a long puffy billowing gown which looked like it was made out of gauze which was colored soft shades of purple, red, yellow, green, blue, and white that mingled together beautifully as she danced. Her hair was like a scattered rays of the sun and danced around her shoulders.

Filled with wonder and admiration they approached her and stood and watched her fascinating dance. The girl seemed about as tall and as old as Dorothy, though more slender and delicate.

Suddenly she stopped her dance, as if noticing them for the first time. As she faced them, looking as shy as a frightened fawn and poised on one foot as if ready to fly in an instant, they were all astonished to see tears flowing from her purplish blue eyes and trickling down her lovely rose-hued cheeks.

"Are you unhappy, little girl?" Mr. Wogglebug asked in a soft, sympathetic voice.

"Very," she replied. "I am lost."

"I've been lost before, and have always been found again," said Dorothy.

"But I've never been lost before," murmured the dainty maiden, "and I'm worried and afraid."

"But you were dancing though?" remarked Mr. Wogglebug in a puzzled tone of voice.

"Oh, that was just to keep warm," explained the girl quickly.

"Who are you, my dear?" asked Mr. Wogglebug gently.

"I'm Polychorme," she replied. "I'm the daughter of the rainbow."

"Oh!" exclaimed Dorothy with a gasp of surprise. "I didn't know the rainbow had a daughter."

"But I might have know who you are in the first place," declared Mr. Wogglebug, "for you really couldn't be anything else."

"Why not?" inquired Polychorme, as if surprised.

"Because you are so lovely and sweet," he replied.

The little maiden smiled through her tears. "You will be my friends, won't you?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course we will," Mr. Wogglebug assured her. "I am Mr. Wogglebug, and these are my companions, Dorothy who is from Kansas, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion of Oz. But tell me, how did you come into this forest and become lost?"

"My father stretched his rainbow over here this morning, so that one end of it came into this forest," was the reply, "and I was dancing upon the pretty rays, as I love to do, and never noticed I was getting too far over the bend in the circle. Suddenly I began to slide, and I went faster and faster until at last I landed on the ground, at the very end. Just then father lifted the rainbow again, without noticing me at all, and though I tried to seize the end of it and hold fast it melted away entirely and I was left alone and helpless on the cold, hard earth!"

"It doesn't seem cold to me, Polly," said Dorothy; "but perhaps you're not warmly dressed.

"I am so used to living nearer to the sun," replied the rainbow's daughter, "and at first I thought I would freeze down here but my dance has warmed me some, and now I wonder how I am ever to get home again."

"Won't your father miss you, and look for you, and let down another rainbow for you?" asked Dorothy.

"Maybe, but he is very busy right now because it rains in so many parts of the world at this season, and he has yet to set his rainbow in a lot of different places. What would you advise me to do?"

"I know!" exclaimed Mr. Wogglebug. "It just so happens I have some rainbow crystal bubbles with me which when met with water they form a rainbow which could easily send you home again."

"Would you really do that for me?" exclaimed Polychome.

Mr. Wogglebug nodded. "If you are willing to come with us to find water."

"Oh my, yes! Oh thank you so much!" Polychorme exclaimed gratefully.

"Then come, and we shall lead you to our vessel!" Mr. Wogglebug gestured for her to follow them.

They went back to where they had left the butterfly and as they approached it they heard the sound of its tittering laughter along with another loud and boisterous laugh. They rounded on them and found there was a tiny figure beside it which had puffy red hair and a white face with a round red nose and wide red mouth and had a conical hat on top of its head and was wearing a green tunic and a pair of orange baggy trousers and large floppy shoes.

"Why look! I do believe it is one of those clown-gnomes, or gnome-clowns!" declared Mr. Wogglebug.

"So I see," said Dorothy. "But I wonder they're laughing about that is so funny."

"This little fellow has just told me the funniest joke I have ever heard!" exclaimed the butterfly. "Tell it to them, won't you?"

"Certainly," replied the gnome-clown in a high shrill voice. "What time is it when an elephant sits on the bed? Time to get a new bed!"

Everyone laughed out loud at this. Then Mr. Wogglebug said, "I am so glad to have found you for we were just looking for your kind and we wanted to know if you could tell us anything about the missing princess of Oz, Ozma?"

"Certainly I can," replied the gnome-clown. "She was a very dear friend of ours. She visited here often and would tell us about how she couldn't wait to crowned Queen of Oz and she invited us to her coronation, but when we got there we suddenly forgot why we had come and so we all went back. Though now I remember that there was an old woman coming through the gates."

"There was? What did she look like?" inquired Mr. Wogglebug.

"She had a long haggard and wrinkled face with a long crooked nose with a wart on the end. She was wearing a big purple bonnet and a ragged and worn purple and red dress and pointed shoes, and she was also hunched somewhat."

"Why I remember her on that day as well!" exclaimed Polychorme.

"You do?" exclaimed the others in surprise.

"I was also a friend of Ozma's," Polychorme continued. "I visited with her and her family whenever it rained over the Emerald City and the last time I visited with them before they vanished they mentioned a good witch would be coming to commence the ceremony of the enchantment of the coronation and last I remember before I suddenly forgot everything was seeing that old woman who I assumed was the good witch who was invited."

"Hmm..." Mr. Wogglebug murmured thoughtfully. "It seems there has been a falsely good witch roaming all over Oz in the past years and I suspect that she may be the cause of the disappearance of the royal family."

"So do I," agreed the Scarecrow.

"Well, we'd better be going now," said Mr. Wogglebug. "We thank you for your useful information good gnome-clown."

"It's been my pleasure," he replied. "By the way, why did the rabbit kiss the banana? Because it had appeal!"

And so laughing they mounted onto the butterfly again and took to the air with their new friend Polychrome with them.

Mr. Wogglebug once again studied the map. "Look right here!" he exclaimed. "There is a large body of water close by beneath us and it won't be straying us too far off course if we cross it and we can get Polly home there!"

So they landed at the edge of the body of water which was as wide as great river and the Tin Man built a raft to carry them across it.

As they began to row themselves upstream they heard a splashing noise around them and they looked around and saw ripples forming on the water's surface growing larger and larger, and then up from below came four mermaids who all looked like young women only a few years older than Dorothy. One of them had red hair with a starfish resting on top of it, and another had brown hair with a necklace of pearls, and another had blonde hair with two oysters on the sides, and the last one had black hair with seaweed ribbons in it.

"Why hello!" said Mr. Wogglebug. "Fancy seeing you here! But why do you all look so unhappy?"

"We have come to warn you of the danger of crossing this water," said the mermaid with the starfish. "There is a viciously ferocious monster laying asleep on the bottom and any noise can wake him."

"Why how do you know there is a monster on the bottom?" inquired Mr. Wogglebug. "Have you ever seen it?"

"Well no," the mermaid admitted. "But we were told to beware of it by a witch named Mombi who flew by here and heard us singing and we haven't sang at all since then,for fear of waking him so that he will eat us."

"But if you have never actually met this sea monster you do not if it's for real or not," Mr. Wogglebug said pointedly.

"And besides even if it does exist it may not be a mean one and it may even like your singing or else it would have eaten you long ago," the Tin Man added.

"And it really isn't wise to just go on living in fear," added the Scarecrow.

"It sure isn't, and I speak from personal experience," added the Lion.

"And I should think you must really miss singing, don't you?" asked Dorothy sympathetically.

"We do indeed," said the dark haired mermaid. "And you all have very good points as well. So if you promise to protect us if you are wrong we will sing a song for you."

"We promise," they all agreed in unison.

And so the mermaids began to sing a sweet song which was in their native tongue and was mixed with melodious vocals and it was altogether so refreshing to hear that everyone found themselves smiling.

After a while large ripples began appearing on the water's surface behind the mermaids and then a gurgling noise was heard which grew louder and louder. And then out from the water came a giant creature which looked like a cross between a lobster and a whale with giant blue eyes.

The mermaids all screamed a little when they saw it. But then they saw that it's eyes were twinkling and it's huge mouth was smiling.

"You all sound as beautiful as you look," it said in a deep, booming voice. "I had been wondering why you stopped singing for a long time."

"You mean you like us and our singing?" asked the blonde mermaid in surprise.

"Of course I do," replied the creature. "It's always cheered me up when I felt down and also soothed me to sleep at night, now without your singing I have been feeling more miserable than I have in a long time and have appeared rather grouchy to all those who cross my path."

"Why we had no idea!" exclaimed the red-haired mermaid. "But why did we not meet with you before now?"

"Because... I happen to be a little shy," admitted the serpent.

"So now it seems you all realize that fear is all in your mind," said Mr. Wogglebug. "And now for our purpose for being here."

So saying he took out six of his rainbow crystal bubbles, each one representing a different color of the rainbow and flung them into the water where they instantly dissolved and there appeared a glorious rainbow touching from the edge of the water's surface to the sky.

Polychrome quickly thanked her friends and climbed up the rainbow and disappeared into the clouds.


	7. Chapter 7

Shortly after the incident with the mermaids the band of travelers mounted the butterfly and took to the air once again. Mr. Wogglebug studied the map for a long time and directed the butterfly where to fly, and after a time he said:

"Stop and land us right down over there for the map is stopping us right there."

And so the butterfly did as he was told and alighted gracefully in the middle of what looked like a very old town with many buildings all of which were grayish with little to no color and the trees around them all looked exactly the same with no variety whatsoever. There was also no wind blowing through them and everything stood perfectly still and quiet.

"Why would the map bring us to a place like this?" asked Dorothy.

"I don't know if I like it," added the Lion. "It's giving me the heebie jeebies!"

"You mean jeebie heebies, Lion," the Scarecrow corrected him.

"That's what I said!" declared the Lion.

"I'm afraid I don't know," responded Mr. Wogglebug. "But if the map led us here we must have some important business here. I'm sure if we just look around we'll it or maybe it will find us."

So they walked around the strange city for a while. As the passed more and more buildings they noticed there was stuff written on each and every one of them.

"Why look!" exclaimed Dorothy. "All these houses have writing on them."

"And the all seem to be facts!" observed the Scarecrow.

"Facts even I didn't know about!" exclaimed Mr. Wogglebug is surprise.

A little further on they noticed a very tall grayish white building which appeared to be the tallest building around them with the most vivid and clear writing on it and at the front of it was written in giant sized words:

The Temple of Knowledge

"Now here is a place I might have important business with," declared Mr. Wogglebug.

"And me too," added the Scarecrow.

"Well then what are you waiting for?" asked the Lion. "Go in and check it out."

"With pleasure," said Mr. Wogglebug.

They approached the steps and started to go inside, but then suddenly someone jumped out at them. It was a strange looking person with a very large head in proportion to its body which was rather small in comparison. His arms were very thin and papery and his legs were short and solid to balance the immense weight of the head.

"Stop!" he shouted. "Go no further for you have no business here!"

Startled, they all stepped back. "Golly!" exclaimed Dorothy. "We're sorry we were intruding. But why can't we go in there?"

"Because that is the Temple of Knowledge, of course," replied the bigheaded man stoutly. "And its entrance is reserved only for those who are of high intelligence like us, and not for those with feeble minds like all of you."

"Ahem! Who are you calling feeble-minded?" demanded Mr. Wogglebug indignantly. "I'll have you know I am the most thoroughly educated bug you will ever find here or anywhere!"

"And I also have the finest brains in all of Oz myself!" added the Scarecrow with equal indignation. "Even though they may not be so large as to look at like yours. And who are you anyway?"

"I'm sorry to have not introduced myself," replied the man. "I am Lobguid. The administrator of this city, the Land of the Living Lobes. Forgive me if I may have misjudged your intelligence but you still cannot pass through the Temple's entrance for it is reserved for our kind alone."

"And why is that?" asked Dorothy.

"Because the temple is filled with facts about things which only we can understand," he replied. "We were blessed with the knowledge and wisdom of all of the universe from the very beginning of it and we seldom allow anyone else into our realm for we get the most terrible headaches trying to think down to your levels."

"Oh my! That is so terrible!" exclaimed Dorothy sympathetically. "You must feel just awful to be this way!"

"Oh no indeed!" asserted the Lobe Administrator. "We are very much happy and content with ourselves and our knowledge which we take pride in enjoying every day."

"But then why does everything around here feel so sad and gloomy to me?" Dorothy inquired.

"Sad?" repeated the Lobe Administrator incredulously. "Why there is no place for sadness around here, or any other emotions for that matter!"

"But why? How can that be?" inquired Dorothy.

"Well one cannot expect to have so much knowledge and wisdom and have feelings and emotions too just to muddle all their wonderful thinking!" the Lobe Administrator declared huffily. "Me and fellow Lobes have prospered for eons without the slightest trace of emotion and we've all been very happy."

"But you can never actually become happy if you don't have emotions!" exclaimed Mr. Wogglebug. "And besides, true wisdom comes from knowledge and feelings put together."

"And just who says this?" demanded the Lobe Administrator.

"My teacher, Professor Nowitall, who gave me my thorough education said so!" Mr. Wogglebug declared.

"Well then I am afraid he was just a feeble-minded simpleton also!" declared the Lobe Administrator haughtily.

"Now just a minute, you can't talk that way about him and me!" Mr. Wogglebug declared, much insulted. "I should know what he says is true for I have always put it to good use and it has never failed me. And I do know that knowledge without feelings is nothing because I use my knowledge to take care of my friends and that makes me happy."

"Mr. Wogglebug is right," agreed the Tin Man. "Brains alone can't make one happy and happiness is the best thing in the world. Happiness, and romance, and joy, and hope, and love!"

"That is what I call sentimental moonshine," the Lobe Administrator said waving his hand dismissively. "And what about emotions like Sadness, misery, jealousy, anger, and hate?"

They thought for a moment about this and then the Tin Man said, "Well, those emotions may be bad for you and bad for others but the good ones are much stronger and last much longer than those."

"And if you have the right amount of knowledge as you say you do," added Mr. Wogglebug, "then you will know how to avoid those bad emotions at most times."

"Especially with love," added the Tin Man. "I do know that my love for my wife and my son keep my heart filled with goodness."

"And it's the same with me too," added the Scarecrow. "My brains wouldn't mean anything to me if I didn't have a loving wife and son to share them with."

"And that goes for me too," added the Lion. "I have just found the love of my life so I should agree."

"And me too," added Dorothy. "My friends and family are the most important things in all the world to me."

"But we have no use for love around here," declared the Lobe Administrator. "All we do is think all day and use our brains and a heart would just get broken if we had any, and thankfully we do not."

"You have no hearts!" exclaimed the Tin Man. "But why not?"

"We don't know," admitted the Lobe Administrator. "But we suppose we were born that way as we were meant to be so."

Mr. Wogglebug took out the magic looking glass Glinda had given them and looked at the Lobe Administrator's reflection in it. He saw that there was a hollow empty space in the center of his chest where a heart should be and it was obvious that it had somehow been removed. He looked up at his face and his own heart filled with sympathy as he saw the saddest expression he had ever seen.

"What are you looking at?" the Lobe Administrator snapped when he saw his expression. "Get out of here! All of you! Go away and leave us alone!"

He spoke so loud and forceful they couldn't help but obey. They quickly ran away at back the way they'd come. When they reached where they'd left the butterfly they stopped and caught their breaths.

"Oh I do feel sorry for those poor people for having no hearts," said the Tin Man.

"So do I," said Dorothy, "but what can we do for them? Especially if they don't want us here."

"I looked in the mirror Glinda gave us and I saw that their hearts were stolen from them somehow," said Mr. Wogglebug, "and it has made them so unhappy they don't even know it. I just wish we could find out where their hearts were and give them back to them."

Just then a large pink bird flew up to them and perched itself on a tree nearby.

"Who are you?" asked Dorothy.

"I am a messenger from Glinda," it said. "I've come to tell you the hearts of the Living Lobes were stolen from them by the Wicked Witch of the East a long time ago. Their hearts are hidden away inside a locked box which is hidden underneath a rock that is shaped like a tear which is hidden under a pile of rocks at the bottom of a mountain which is located at the edge of this city. I hope you will succeed in finding it."

Then after bowing to them the large pink bird flew away again.

"Well," said Mr. Wogglebug. "Now it seems we have a mountain to find and a buried treasure to uncover."

So they got onto the butterfly which flew them to the edge of the city and there they saw the mountain. It was a very strange looking mountain for it looked almost as if it were upside down. Its lower half was long and skinny and its upper top was heavy and full.

"This had sure better be worth the effort," said the Lion when he saw the mountain.

The butterfly landed at the bottom of the mountain at which they saw many rocks piled high on top of each other all around it.

"Well, where should we start looking?" asked Dorothy.

"I have a feeling I know where to look," said the Tin Man.

"How do you know?" asked the Scarecrow.

"Well, remember I once thought I had no heart but then I looked inside of me and I found it was there all along and now I believe if I let my own heart be my guide I will find theirs," the Tin Man replied.

He then set to work throwing rocks out of the way and the others soon joined him. It took them a long time, in fact it was nearly dark when they finally uncovered the rock that was shaped like a tear.

"Here it is!" exclaimed the Tin Man in victory.

Then he took his ax and cut the rock open. Inside it was a large tinder box which appeared to be locked securely shut. So then Mr. Wogglebug took the magic key Glinda gave them and put into the lock and opened extremely easily. When they opened it up they saw hundreds of glowing red hearts. Altogether the glow was so dazzling they had to shield their eyes from it before they quickly closed the box again.

"Now to return these to their rightful owners," said Dorothy.

"I'm sure they'll be so happy to have them back," added the Tin Man.

So then they went back to the Temple of Knowledge and were once again met with the scowling Lobe Administrator.

"I thought I told you to keep away from here!" he said.

"You did," replied Mr. Wogglebug. "But we had to come back to return these to you, good sir."

The Lobe Administrator looked curious as they handed him the box and when he opened it, just as they had, he gasped and shielded his eyes from the dazzling glare of the many hearts inside.

"Why what's this?" he asked bewildered.

"Why they're your hearts which were stolen from you so long ago," replied Mr. Wogglebug.

"They are? Why I haven't had a heart in so long I've forgotten how they look... and also how they feel," he said quietly as he reached inside the box and picked one up. No sooner had he touched it then it disappeared and then reappeared briefly in the center of his chest. He gasped audibly and clutched at his chest as his eyes went wide and his face took many different expressions of different emotions. Finally he settled one one which was a mixture of happy and sad and burst into tears.

"Oh I do thank you all so much for returning my heart to me," he cried. "I never knew it but I was so unhappy without it and now that I have it and can feel again I realize all the things you said about having one were absolutely right. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course," they all said in unison.

"My memory is all coming back to me now," the Lobe Administrator continued as he wiped his eyes. "Many years ago a witch cam to our town and told us our hearts were clogging up our ability to think properly and she would do us a favor by removing them from us and now I realize that it was a trick. Now you have brought them back. How can I ever repay you?"

"You can tell us anything you know about Ozma, the missing princess of Oz," replied Mr. Wogglebug as he showed him Ozma's picture.

"Ozma? Oh yes, Ozma! She used to visit us many years ago when we still had our hearts and she told us how she dreamed of overthrowing the wicked witches of Oz and letting everyone live in harmony."

"What do you know about her disappearance?" inquired Mr. Wogglebug.

"Just that the wicked witches of the East, West, and North had been responsible for kidnapping and enchanting her and her parents in some way," he replied. "And also their was an old woman who had lost her memory around the time of the royal family's mysterious disappearance. No one knew who she was or what happened to her either."

"Hmm..." Mr. Wogglebug mulled. "I suspect those wicked witches were somehow behind her as well. Well, thank you for your time we must be on our way now."

"Of course," he replied. "And I must be on my way also to return all these hearts to the citizens here."


	8. Chapter 8

On leaving the Land of the Living Lobes they followed the map as directed by Mr. Wogglebug and flew towards the setting sun in the West and watched as day turned to night. Then they flew onward without stopping until morning as they watched the sun slowly light up the sky.

"Where are we now?" asked Dorothy with a yawn.

"Looking around I'd say we are in the Winkie Country," said Mr. Wogglebug observing the yellow land below them. "And the map appears to be stopping us at right up here."

They all looked ahead of them and could see just below them the dark mountains which surrounded the black castle which the Wicked Witch of the West had lived in.

"But why would the map lead us to here of all places?" asked the Scarecrow puzzled.

"I'm afraid I don't know," admitted Mr. Wogglebug. "But the map was a gift from Glinda and we must follow it precisely as we all must keep our trust in her."

"You're right," agreed Dorothy. "And besides, what harm can possibly come to us now that the Wicked Witch isn't living here anymore."

So the butterfly landed them at the front of the castle and they dismounted and stepped up to the front doors and knocked on them. Shortly the doors were opened a couple of men with dark green faces and wearing long heavy uniforms lined with red and gray and large wool hats on their heads. These men were recognized as the witch's former Winkie guards.

"Greetings to you gentlemen," said Mr. Wogglebug tipping his hat. "I am Mr. Wogglebug and these are my friends who I think you may remember and especially Dorothy."

"Oh yes, Dorothy," replied one guard with a smile in Dorothy's direction. "How could we not remember the one who destroyed our evil mistress and set us free of her bondage. What brings you here?"

"We are on a quest to find the missing Princess Ozma," replied Dorothy. "We heard there were three witches involved in enchanting her and so we thought maybe you would remember anything about it."

"Please do come inside," said the guard. "You must be weary from your journey. Come in and you will find out all you need to know."

"Why thank you, don't mind if we do," said Dorothy cordially.

So they stepped inside the threshold of the castle. On entering they found that everything looked the same as it had when they had last been here. There were the Witch's things like her broomstick, cauldron, spellbooks and other dark magic items strewn about.

"Why is everything still here?" Dorothy wondered aloud.

Just then they heard the sound of the doors being slammed shut and locked solidly behind them. They turned around and stared at the Winkie guards.

"Hey, what did you do that for, huh?" asked the Lion.

The Winkie guards turned to face them and their green faces now held stern and scowling expressions. "You killed our mistress and now you will pay for it!" one of them shouted.

"But we thought you were glad she's dead," Dorothy muttered in confusion.

"Some of us were," admitted the other guard. "But there were also those of us who saw that she was really grieving for her sister's death which was also caused by you, and she deserved to have the Ruby Slippers as she was the rightful heir to them. We have always been loyal to her and will remain so even with her death."

"What are you going to do to us?" asked the Lion quivering.

"That is all gonna be up to our new mistress, Mombi," replied the guard smugly.

"Mombi?" they all exclaimed.

Just then there was a loud crack and a large puff of smoke appeared and as it cleared away they saw an old bent woman with a wrinkled and haggard face, a long pointed nose with a wart on the end and wearing a worn purple dress with a cape and matching large purple bonnet. They instantly knew who she was.

"You're the one who enchanted the royal family!" exclaimed Mr. Wogglebug. "What have you done to them?"

"That is not important," Mombi sneered. "What is important is what I will do to you! You see I was the apprentice of the witches of the East and West and now that they are gone I am the supreme witch of all of Oz. What you did to them was bad for them but good for me, though it will also be bad for you as soon as I think of how to bring about your untimely end. Until then I shall keep you where you will be sure as not to escape!" She cackled maliciously and raised her gnarled wrinkled hands in the air and then there was a blast of light and a loud crack and then Dorothy and her friends vanished.

They found themselves in the darkest and dankest chamber ever, the only bits of light coming out of the thin cracks in the stone walls. They knew instantly where they must be.

"Oh no! We're in the dungeon!" wailed the Lion. "What will we do now? How are we going to get out?"

"I don't know," moaned the Scarecrow. "In spite of my brains I don't know."

"We certainly must get out of here somehow," exclaimed the Tin Man on the verge of tears. "Or I will never see my family again."

"And I won't be able to marry Zuza!" wailed the Lion. "Oh no! What if she thinks something happened to me and what if the hyena comes back and he convinces her to marry him and to the animals to let him be their king? Oh no!"

"Now, now, my friends," Mr. Wogglebug said coaxingly. "Let us end this mournful talk and try to concentrate on finding our way out of here."

"I guess that is easy for you to say being so thoroughly educated isn't it?" said the Scarecrow.

"Well, yes it is," said Mr. Wogglebug slightly confused.

"There is something I've been meaning to ask you for a long time," the Scarecrow went on. "If you had pills that granted wishes with you why didn't you just use them to send us to where Ozma is?"

"I couldn't," replied Mr. Wogglebug, "because I had no idea where she is."

"But wouldn't the magic in the pill know anyway?" argued the Scarecrow.

"Well perhaps," admitted Mr. Wogglebug. "But I just thought it would be more fun this way."

"Sure, look at us, we're having loads of fun here," huffed the Scarecrow.

"Come now, I expected we'd get into danger somehow on our quest," Mr. Wogglebug said defensively. "After all we are dealing with a wicked witch again aren't we? The bright side is that now that we've found Mombi we are surer than ever to find the royal family if we just know how to look."

"But how can we find them if we're locked up in here?" argued the Scarecrow.

"Remember we do have this," Mr. Wogglebug held up the magic mirror from Glinda in one hand, "And this," he held up the magic key in the other. "If we just look around with them we may be able to find our way out of here, and if we're lucky we'll also find a clue about the whereabouts of the royal family."

So they all began walking around in the dungeon and looked for a way out. Mr. Wogglebug walked with the magic mirror held out in front of him and presently when he came into an area in which there was more light he spotted something on the wall. He came closer and inspecting it he saw that was a large painting on a canvas. In the dim light he could see it was a painting of the front of the Emerald City. He noticed there was also a small bird flying in the sky near one of the turrets and there was a tree painted far in the distance of it so that it looked tiny and there was one flower in the shape of a poppy at the gate of the Emerald City.

Feeling suddenly very curious he held up the magic mirror and looked at the painting's reflection in it. In the reflection the painting looked as bright as day and suddenly a glow appeared around the three objects he had noticed in it and then there was a flash of light like lightning in a straight line and he saw that the objects in the painting were not what they appeared to be at all.

"Come here and look at what I've found!" he called to his companions.

They all hurried toward him and saw the painting in the reflection of the magic mirror and were all as astonished as he was.

"Are they who I think they are?" asked Dorothy.

"Yes they are," Mr. Wogglebug replied with certainty.

"But how are we going to get them out?" asked Dorothy.

"There is only one who can," replied Mr. Wogglebug solemnly. "And she will be hard to council with."

Just then there was a loud crack behind them and they turned quickly just as the smoke cleared and there was Mombi in front of them and this time she was holding a long twisted staff in her right hand.

"You are done for now," she cackled. "Any last words?"

Mr. Wogglebug stood his ground and spoke firmly. "We know now what you've done with the royal family. They are the three small objects in this painting of the Emerald City and now we want you to disenchant them for the sake of Oz."

"How foolish you are!" cackled Mombi. "The royal family is not in that painting at all."

"But they are," Mr. Wogglebug insisted. "Just look in here and see for yourself." He held up the magic mirror to Mombi's face so that she could see them and as he did so he also caught Mombi's reflection in it as well and he was doubly astonished at what he saw for Mombi's face looked gentle and kind and with no wrinkles or warts and her eyes had a twinkle in them.

"Well, I'll be!" Mr. Wogglebug gasped. "Not only is the royal family enchanted but so is their enchantress!"

"What do you mean?" Mombi demanded.

"Why just have a look for yourself," Mr. Wogglebug replied as he reached out and held the mirror up close in front of Mombi so she could see her reflection.

Mombi's jaw dropped. "I... I look... different," she stuttered.

"Yes indeed you do," Mr. Wogglebug acknowledged. "Can you tell me how you changed?"

Mombi was silent for a while and then gradually a stunned look came over her ugly face and she slowly spoke in a quiet tone. "I was living in the Gilikin Country and practicing magic because the good witch there wanted me as her apprentice. One day while I was testing a spell the wicked witches of the East and West appeared before me and demanded that I become their apprentice and do as they told me and when I refused they took away all my memories except for my magic and then instructed me on how to kidnap the royal family so that Oz would belong to them. And then I did and we enchanted them into a painting that was in their throne room and brought it here."

"Oh poor Mombi," said the Tin Man with deep sympathy.

"It must have been horrible for you to be tricked like that into serving for evil when you were meant to serve good," added Dorothy.

Mombi's face lost it's look of evil and her lips began quivering as tears slowly trickled from her eyes. "It was. It really was. All these years... and all of the poor creatures I cast spells on... and look at what it has done to me!"

"I do see," said Mr. Wogglebug gently. "Evil does cause aging from the inside out just as it poisons the soul. But now that the two wicked witches are dead and gone your memory has returned and with it surely has your true self which as you see is filled with kindness."

"But I don't know if I can be who I used to be again," Mombi sobbed.

"Yes, you can," Mr. Wogglebug assured her. "And you can start by practicing good magic again and your first act can be to disenchant the royal family of Oz."

Mombi looked up and her lips trembled into a smile. "And so I shall," she said. She then held her staff which began to glow a light greenish color and then touched to the painting as she chanted, "From the shadows of time long concealed, royal family of Oz be revealed!"

There was a clicking sound like that of an old ancient lock being opened and then the whole chamber exploded in bright white light as if the sun had crashed and fell into it and the glare left everyone blinded for a few seconds. Then as quickly as it had appeared it vanished and standing before the group were three new people.

One was a tall elderly man with white hair and a matching long white beard. He wore long red robes lined with emerald green and a large gold and emerald studded crown upon his head and his eyes twinkled with joy as he looked around him. Another was a stately woman with thick red hair which flowed down her back and was held in place by a thin gold crown studded also with emeralds. She wore a long green gown with a white middle and her eyes were green and sparkled the same joy as the man's. With them was a young girl no older than Dorothy. She had reddish brown hair in long ringlets with a small gold and emerald studded crown and two poppies on either side of her head. She wore a long white gown with short sleeves and her eyes were also green and glittered with immense joy.

"Thank you so much," said the girl. "You've saved us and surely have saved Oz. I am Ozma and this is my father King Pastoria and my mother Queen Lurline."

"We know," Mr. Wogglebug nodded. "I am Mr. Wogglebug and these are my friends, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Lion, and this is the apprentice of the Good Witch of the North, Mombi."

"We are most indebted to you all," said King Pastoria. "But now how are we to get out of here and get beck to the Emerald City where my daughter may be crowned?"

"No need to worry," Mr. Wogglebug replied. "For we have with us a magic key that will open any door."

And so they found the door of the dungeon and exited it. Then as they were about to leave the castle they ran into the Winkie guards again.

"How did you get out of the dungeon?" they demanded.

"You must let them go," said Mombi. "For they have done no wrong. I was but only a victim of the wicked witches evil deeds and so were you and now we can be free and lay the old days to rest."

It took a little more convincing of the Winkie guards but they did at last let them go.


	9. Chapter 9

When they left the castle they looked toward the sky and saw Glinda's pink bubble floating down before them. When the bubble dispersed Glinda appeared in front of them smiling.

"I have come to congratulate you, my friends," she said. "I am making sure everyone in Oz knows of your success and will be there for Ozma's coronation."

"Thank you, Ms. Glinda," said King Pastoria. "Now we must hurry to get back to Emerald City."

"I believe that can be arranged," said Mr. Wogglebug cheerily. "Allow us to escort Your Majesties to our vessel."

They soon found the giant butterfly waiting for them and its lit up when it saw Ozma. "Who is this?" it asked staring with admiration.

"This is the Princess Ozma we told you about," replied Mr. Wogglebug. "We've finally found her."

"Oh. I've never seen a princess before," replied the butterfly in astonishment.

"I've never seen a giant butterfly before, either," replied Ozma.

Then they all mounted onto the butterfly's back and it picked up its wings and began to fly them to Emerald City. Ozma seemed to really enjoy the ride.

"This feels like floating on my dreams!" she exclaimed smiling widely.

"I suppose I must have much to catch up on what's been happening since I've been enchanted," said King Pastoria.

"You do indeed," said the Scarecrow. "While you were absent the Emerald City was being ruled by Wizard from a place called Omaha, and in fact it still is."

"He is a good wizard, isn't he?" inquired Pastoria.

"Oh yes, very good indeed," replied the Scarecrow. "He knows what makes for brains, hearts, and courage and he does magic extremely well too."

They reached the Emerald City shortly and landed at the gates where the doorman immediately recognized them as well as the King, Queen, and Princess.

"Welcome home, Your Majesties," he said bowing low. "We all welcome you back most happily."

They passed through the city's gates and were at once allowed passage into the Emerald Palace. There they met with the Wizard.

"Greetings my friends, it's good to see you again," he said as he rose to greet them. "And who might these fine looking monarchs be?"

"These are none other than King Pastoria, Queen Lurline, and Princess Ozma," Mr. Wogglebug introduced. "They are the rightful rulers of Oz."

The Wizard looked genuinely surprised. "But when I first came here I was told there was no one to rule Oz," he said in confusion.

"I know," Mr. Wogglebug nodded. "That was because everyone at the time had had their memories erased of them because of the powerful enchantment that was placed upon them. The Wicked Witches of the East and West had also enchanted an innocent woman named Mombi who is right here to deceive and kidnap them. After the Wicked Witches died the spell broke halfway and now it is completely broken. Mombi is no longer evil as she is the rightful apprentice of the Good Witch of the North and the monarchs of Oz have been disenchanted so now they can take up where they left off and Ozma will become the new ruler of Oz."

"Well," said the Wizard. "I am indeed glad that all is well now and the rightful rulers of Oz have come back. The last thing I wish to do is to stand in their way, but I do wonder what is to become of me now."

"I have every intention of letting you remain here to be my court wizard," replied Ozma, "for I have heard all about you and now that I can trust you in times when your magic is needed."

"Why I am very honored to be given such a position, my dear princess," said the Wizard bowing to Ozma. "Though I am ashamed to admit I once only pretended to have magic powers and was nothing but a humbug."

"I have been told all about it," Ozma replied gently. "It is all forgiven and I am grateful to you for ruling the Emerald City in my absence for you hadn't been here the Witches would have took over Oz."

"It was the least I could do since the people were so kind to me," replied the Wizard humbly.

King Pastoria cleared his throat. "I would be honored, friend Wizard, if you would commence my daughter's coronation."

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure," the Wizard declared smiling.

So on the following day everyone in all of Oz turned up at the palace for the coronation. The Winkies, the Gilikings, the Quadlings, and the Munchkins. Also the families of the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion were present. The crowd watched as Ozma was seated on the throne now wearing a long green robe lined with red and gold and her parents stood at the left side of her and the Wizard stood at the right side.

King Pastoria held up his hands for silence and then began his speech. "I would like to thank you all for coming on this splendid day to my daughter's coronation. Also a special thanks goes to our good friends, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Lion, and the Wogglebug for their finding us and also to Mombi, the Good Witch of the North's apprentice for disenchanting us, and our good friend the Wizard of Oz for looking after everything while we were absent. Now friend Wizard, if you please?"

The Wizard nodded and stepped forward with his wand in hand and stood next to Ozma and made slow motions with his wand and gentle little sparkles began to flitter around Ozma's head. They grew brighter and brighter and then they settled into the form of a crown of gold studded with emeralds.

The Wizard stood facing the crowd of onlookers and announced, "I give you Queen Ozma of Oz the first!"

Then there was a great loud cheer from the citizens of Oz. Dorothy stepped forward as it began to quiet down and took the Wogglebug by the hand leading him to the front of the room.

"The cause for this celebration goes especially to our friend Mr. Wogglebug for without him me and my friends would never have begun our quest."

Then there was another great cheer directed at the Wogglebug to which he bowed again and again to.

Then a rainbow suddenly filtered down from ceiling and Polychorme the rainbow's daughter glided down from it and appeared before Ozma.

"Polly, my dear friend!" exclaimed Ozma as she rose to greet and embrace her old friend.

"I heard you had been found again and so I just had to be here," said Polychorme.

"This is the most wonderful reunion," said Ozma.

"I know of another dear friend you will be delighted to be reunited with," said Dorothy. "In the South of the Gilikin Country there is a little city called China Town where everything is made of china including the people and there we met a china princess who claimed to have once belonged to you."

"Yes, I do remember having a friend who was a china doll which my father gave to me," said Ozma.

"Well, now we should be on our way back to China Town to go get her," Dorothy continued.

When they reached the China Country and climbed over the wall of china they found that the tournament for the princess's affections was just beginning.

They watched the bull fighter came through without a single crack in him. They watched as a slender dancer performed a graceful stance.

They watched as Mr. Joker juggled various objects like balls, vases, apples, and oranges, and pears. Then when he stopped he stood on his head and began to recite:

"My lady, look past my facade  
And please, don't think it odd

That I, a clown, should propose  
You and I, we're two peas in a pod  
And we even have matching clothes!"

He did a backflip and then a somersault with a half twist in it and then stood up and bowed and continued:

"The nose knows, and I do suppose  
that your toes in fact smell like a rose  
For you're sweet in every way"

'Don't think this cliche, though I've an array  
of flower bouquets for you  
For I took a survey and the results did allay  
That they act like fine shampoo!

They then listened to the minstrel's singing as he played his harp:

"I can't help but stare at your flaxen curls,  
and lips as shiny as newly-made pearls.

My princess. I'd wish for no other girl!"

"Your eyes, fair maid, are as blue as the skies  
On a cloudless day in May  
How I yearn to claim my prize  
and wed you this very day."

"My china princess, refined and mature  
Your heart's so warm and your values pure  
No matter the hardships, our love will endure."

The princess had watched and listened to all of them with a small smile. Then another man made of china, this one looked like a prince. As he approached her he spoke in verse:

"My dear, sweet princess, i now bestow  
A poem from your royal (hopefully) beau  
Your presence sets my heart all aglow  
Having said this, I bid you hello."

"And now, my darling, I must make a scene  
of your eyes so blue and dress so green  
I can tell one day you'd make a fine queen  
And wouldn't you say I'd make a fine king?"

"Would you then please listen to my plea  
As I stand here now on bended knew  
To wed me this day, at half past three  
And then, oh princess, how happy we'll be!"

When it then came to an end the princess stood erect on her balcony and announced her decision.

"I choose the minstrel for he sings straight from his heart like no other does."

Dorothy reached down and lightly scooped up the tiny minstrel and put him together with the princess. "I am sure Ozma will be very happy to have both of you as her personal friends and companions," she said.


	10. Chapter 10

Ozma was indeed delighted to have her friend the china princess come home to her and she made sure she and the minstrel had the most comfortable accommodations in the china castle in her room. Ozma then dubbed the giant butterfly her personal steed as the two of them had become so close to each other.

"I should be returning home now," said the Tin Man. "I shouldn't be staying away from my home and family longer than is necessary.

"So should I," added the Scarecrow. "I wouldn't want my son to get behind in school.

"And me too," said the Lion. "Me and Zuza have preparations to make for our wedding soon."

"I also have a family and an important job at my home to return to," Mr. Wogglebug agreed.

"I should return to my family and Kansas right away too," said Dorothy. "Though I wish we were as well off as all of you are here," she added remembering the hardships her family was now facing.

Ozma smiled and said, "There's no need to worry, Dorothy. Things will get better soon, just wait and see."

So then Dorothy hugged all of her friends goodbye and none of them felt any words needed to be spoken. Except for the Wogglebug who said, "Until we meet again."

Dorothy clicked the heels of the Ruby Slippers together and wished to be home and then before she knew it she was standing in her bedroom in Kansas in the exact same spot she had been when she left. She undressed and tucked herself into bed and fell asleep hoping Ozma had been right about things getting better soon.

The next day Dorothy, Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and the farmhands made their annual trip to the Summer county fair to put up what crops and livestock they could. Most of the people there it seemed would only pass by their share without even a second look for it was such a meager amount.

Then, almost out of nowhere, a young girl of Dorothy's age came up to them. She was wearing a green and white checked gingham dress and a green sunbonnet on her head which was full of reddish brown ringlets. Curiously, Dorothy approached her.

"Have we met before?" she asked.

"I don't think so," the girl replied. "My family and I just moved here not too long ago. My name is Olsa, by the way."

"My name is Dorothy Gale," she replied and shook her hand.

Olsa then noticed their shortage of crops and livestock. "Why do you have so few goods this year, if you don't mind my asking?"

"There was tornado a few months ago and it ruined most of our crops and livestock," Dorothy explained.

"I'm very sorry to hear that," said Olsa. "You know, my family has more crops and livestock then we know what to do with and so I'm sure if we talked to my parents about your situation they would willingly share with you and your family."

"But isn't that charity?" asked Dorothy. "I don't know if my aunt and uncle would accept it from strangers."

"But isn't it better than just waiting for something else to happen?" asked Olsa.

"I suppose you're right," agreed Dorothy.

Then Olsa found her parents and they met with Dorothy's aunt and uncle and after getting to know each other a bit they made mention of their offer to help them out by splitting their crops and livestock with them. The Gales were at first a bit reluctant but after a bit of negotiating they agreed.

Dorothy and Olsa then got to know each other more and found they had much in common. After the fair the two family's drove back to the Gale farm together and that evening as they all had dinner together there was a light shower of rain outside and within moments of its passing a rainbow appeared briefly in the sky.

"I've always loved rainbows," said Olsa, "and I've often wondered if there is some place beyond it. Do you suppose there could be?"

"I'm sure there is," said Dorothy.


End file.
